Docs Are Urged to Reject Gifts from Pharma

As reported in the on-line N.Y. Times, physican-authors in JAMA this week are calling for an end to the pharmaceutical companies' largesse, claiming that "[t]he free gifts, drugs and classes that pharmaceutical and medical device makers routinely give doctors undermine good medical care [and] hurt patients. . . .  But Dr. David Blumenthal, one of the article's co-authors, said it was 'not very likely' that many in medicine would listen to the group." 

The article provides a non-exclusive list of the kinds of inducements "that must be addressed":

gifts, even of relatively small items, including meals; payment for attendance at lectures and conferences, including online activities; CME for which physicians pay no fee; payment for time while attending meetings; payment for travel to meetings or scholarships to attend meetings; payment for participation in speakers bureaus; the provision of ghostwriting services; provision of pharmaceutical samples; grants for research projects; and payment for consulting relationships. 

The link the the JAMA article (which requires a subscription to view the full piece) is here.  [tm]